Tag:

Fentanyl

5-Month-Old Infant Takes Cocaine, Fentanyl Parents Got In PA Prison, Police Say 5-Month-Old Infant Takes Cocaine, Fentanyl Parents Got In PA Prison, Police Say
5-Month-Old Infant Takes Cocaine, Fentanyl Parents Got In PA Prison, Police Say A 5-month-old baby girl was found with cocaine and fentanyl in her system that police believe her parents got in the Cumberland County Prison, according to multiple releases on Friday, Sept. 13. David James Foor, 26, and Brandi Renee Keifer, 25, both of Carlisle were arrested on the charge of child endangerment on Monday, Sept. 9, by Middlesex Township Police. The following day "it was discovered Foor [and Keifer] had brought in and possessed controlled substances while incarcerated at the Cumberland County Prison," the police wrote in two additional releases. Additional details about…
Fentanyl, Ecstasy Seized In Allentown Drug Bust: Police Fentanyl, Ecstasy Seized In Allentown Drug Bust: Police
Fentanyl, Ecstasy Seized In Allentown Drug Bust: Police A kilogram of fentanyl and more than 300 tablets of ecstasy were confiscated during an arrest in Allentown on Friday, July 19, authorities said in a release.  Officers were investigating on the 800 block of Chew Street when they took 50-year-old Tyrone Fowler into custody, APD said. The drugs were found on Fowler's person after his arrest, according to officials.  Fowler, of Philadelphia, was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and related counts, authorities said. His bail was set at $300,000 and his preliminary hearing was scheduled for July 26,…
'Career Drug Dealer', PA Mom Convicted In 5-Year-Old's Fatal Fentanyl Overdose: AG 'Career Drug Dealer', PA Mom Convicted In 5-Year-Old's Fatal Fentanyl Overdose: AG
'Career Drug Dealer', PA Mom Convicted In 5-Year-Old's Fatal Fentanyl Overdose: AG Mom and a "career drug dealer" have been sentenced for the overdose death of her daughter, according to a release by Pennsylvania's Attorney General Michelle Henry on Wednesday, July 17.  Volaura 'Val' Askew, 28 of Johnstown, "exposed her 5-year-old daughter to fentanyl/heroin in the hours and days before the child was found dead in her Johnstown home on October 27, 2022," the Attorney General explained when Daily Voice first reported her charges in July 2023. In February of 2024, she pleaded "guilty to involuntary manslaughter and related charges, and is serving a 2-to-4-year state pri…
Reading Businessman Sold Fentanyl To Undercover Detectives, DA Says Reading Businessman Sold Fentanyl To Undercover Detectives, DA Says
Reading Businessman Sold Fentanyl To Undercover Detectives, DA Says Over a hundred fentanyl pills were seized in a Reading drug raid on Friday, July 12, according to the Berks County District Attorney's Office.  Gregory Borges, 60, was charged with drug and firearms offenses, prosecutors said.  Detectives began investigating Borges in May and made multiple controlled buys of fentanyl from his business Gshirt Inc. at 921 Penn Street, authorities wrote in a release.  "He was selling this lethal product and storing it at this location," the DA's Office said. Detectives obtained a search warrant for his business on Wednesday, July 10 and raided…
Officer Injured During Drug Arrest In Allentown: Police Officer Injured During Drug Arrest In Allentown: Police
Officer Injured During Drug Arrest In Allentown: Police An Allentown police officer was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries after a suspect resisted arrest on Wednesday, July 3, according to city officials.  Police said they were patrolling near North Boyer and Russell streets around 6 p.m. when they spotted two men "involved in suspected drug activity." They initiated an arrest and 23-year-old Jeniel Rivera Gotay resisted and tried to flee, according to APD. He was placed in custody and police said they found fentanyl and crack cocaine in his possession.  Another suspect, 50-year-old Pablo A. Garcia, was found to have crack…
Unlicensed Driver Was DUI In Crash That Killed Pregnant Woman: Montco DA Unlicensed Driver Was DUI In Crash That Killed Pregnant Woman: Montco DA
Unlicensed Driver Was DUI In Crash That Killed Pregnant Woman: Montco DA A Philadelphia man is in police custody for the May crash that killed Nya Janae Stokes, according to prosecutors.  The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said 27-year-old Jabrial Terry had fentanyl, oxycodone, Benzodiazepines and cannabinoids in his system during the May 4 wreck.  Authorities said Stokes, who was nine months pregnant, was the passenger in a Toyota that Terry's Buick struck head-on on Skippack Pike in Whitemarsh.  The 24-year-old was unresponsive and taken to Abington Hospital, where she died after her baby was delivered in …
West Reading Man Charged After $65K+ Drug Bust: DA West Reading Man Charged After $65K+ Drug Bust: DA
West Reading Man Charged After $65K+ Drug Bust: DA A two-month investigation ended with the seizure of more than a kilogram of drugs and one arrest in Berks County, said the District Attorney's Office on Friday.  Eric Emilio Delacruz, 36, of West Reading, is charged with multiple counts related to drug trafficking, prosecutors said.  Police began investigating drug sales at 343 Chestnut Street in April, the DA's Office said. On Thursday, June 13, county detectives executed a search warrant and said they recovered:  735 grams of cocaine with a potential street value of $36,750 744 fentanyl pills with a potential street value…
'Operation Black Diamond': Feds Seek Alleged Philadelphia Fentanyl Trafficker 'Operation Black Diamond': Feds Seek Alleged Philadelphia Fentanyl Trafficker
'Operation Black Diamond': Feds Seek Alleged Philadelphia Fentanyl Trafficker Eleven members of a suspected drug trafficking organization are in custody, federal authorities say.  The group, allegedly headed by 30-year-old Wilfredo Avila, is accused of running "significant quantities" of fentanyl and cocaine throughout Philadelphia's Kensington and Fairhill sections from February 2023 through this month.  The organization also "routinely offered and sold firearms of all kinds to its drug dealer customers," said the US Attorney's Office in a release on Thursday, June 13.  Ten suspects were arrested and one more is awaiting transfer from anoth…
Coatesville Parents Ran Fundraiser For Son Who Allegedly Overdosed On Their Drugs Coatesville Parents Ran Fundraiser For Son Who Allegedly Overdosed On Their Drugs
Coatesville Parents Ran Fundraiser For Son Who Allegedly Overdosed On Their Drugs The Coatesville parents charged with their son's overdose death last July launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his funeral expenses.  The verified campaign raised $895 after it was posted on July 30, 2023.  "My name is Mousa Hawa I am asking for help to cover cost for my son Hunter Hawa," the campaign reads. "He passed suddenly 7/26/2023 we are having him cremated and then we will have a service for him(.)" Hawa and Holly Back are each charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in Hunter's July 26 overdose death, the Chester County District Attorney'…
Coatesville Parents Charged In 8-Year-Old's Fentanyl Death Had Unused Narcan Doses In House: DA Coatesville Parents Charged In 8-Year-Old's Fentanyl Death Had Unused Narcan Doses In House: DA
Coatesville Parents Charged In 8-Year-Old's Fentanyl Death Had Unused Narcan Doses In House: DA Two Coatesville residents have been arrested and charged in the fentanyl overdose death of their 8-year-old son last summer, authorities said Holly Back and Mousa Hawa were each charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the July 26, 2023 overdose death of their son, the Chester County District Attorney's Office said on Tuesday, June 4. Police also said they found two unused doses of Narcan in the East Lincoln Highway home of Back and Hawa, who both denied the possibility that the boy had gotten into "their medicine," when interviewed by detectives, according to a…
Stroudsburg Man Sentenced For 2023 Overdose Death: DA Stroudsburg Man Sentenced For 2023 Overdose Death: DA
Stroudsburg Man Sentenced For 2023 Overdose Death: DA A Stroudsburg man will spend up to a decade in prison for an overdose death last year, a Monroe County Court has ruled.  Edwin Burgos, 39, was sentenced to 4 to 10 years plus 12 years probation, said the Monroe County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday.  Prosecutors said Steven Nitschke was found dead from a fentanyl overdose in his Stroud Township apartment on March 18, 2023. Stroud Area Regional Police and Monroe County detectives determined he got the drugs from Burgos, his coworker.  Burgos pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, possession with the intent to…
137 Grams Of Fentanyl Seized In Reading: Authorities 137 Grams Of Fentanyl Seized In Reading: Authorities
137 Grams Of Fentanyl Seized In Reading: Authorities A "home check" on North 9th Street in Reading led to the confiscation of more than 100 grams of fentanyl on Thursday, May 2, authorities said.  Reading police and state parole officers said they recovered: Three handguns, including two with defaced serial numbers A "ghost rifle" 137 grams of fentanyl Four fentanyl pills Six ecstasy pills Marijuana Charges are pending, they added. 
Philly Dealer With Berks County Ties Had More Than $8 Million In Fentanyl: DA Philly Dealer With Berks County Ties Had More Than $8 Million In Fentanyl: DA
Philly Dealer With Berks County Ties Had More Than $8 Million In Fentanyl: DA A Philadelphia man is accused of selling fentanyl and heroin in Berks County, the District Attorney's Office said Wednesday, May 1.  Ramon Alberto Jimenez-Merejildo was arrested on Perkiomen Avenue in Exeter on Tuesday, April 30, according to prosecutors.  Authorities said Jimenez-Merejildo was selling fentanyl in Philadelphia and also "transporting large amounts" to Berks for distribution. Police made several controlled buys from Jimenez-Merejildo during the two-month investigation, the DA's Office said.  During a search of Jimenez-Merejildo's residence …
Trio Caught With Drugs In Monroe County Hotel Room, DA Says Trio Caught With Drugs In Monroe County Hotel Room, DA Says
Trio Caught With Drugs In Monroe County Hotel Room, DA Says Three men are in custody after police said they found syringes, a crack pipe, and fentanyl in a Bartonsville hotel room on Tuesday, April 30.  Twenty-nine-year-old Brandon Cabrera of Effort, 32-year-old Christopher Ferraro of East Stroudsburg, and 28-year-old Dylan Smith of Stroudsburg all face drug an paraphernalia charges, said the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.  According to prosecutors, Monroe County Probation and Parole Officers went to a hotel on Route 611 after receiving information that Cabrera was staying there. The 29-year-old was sought on an alleged par…
Bucks Man Sentenced For Selling Pills That Led To Deadly Overdose: DA Bucks Man Sentenced For Selling Pills That Led To Deadly Overdose: DA
Bucks Man Sentenced For Selling Pills That Led To Deadly Overdose: DA A Morrisville man will spend up to 14 years in state prison in connection with a fentanyl death, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said Thursday.  Joeshae Bussey, 43, previously pleaded guilty to drug delivery resulting in death, possession of a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility and involuntary manslaughter, according to prosecutors.  Authorities said Bussey sold 37-year-old Ryan Dillon the pills that killed him on Dec. 23, 2022. Prosecutors said the pair had previously lived together in a recovery house.  Dillon was foun…
‘90 Day Fiance’ PA Barber Conviction Withdrawn Due Juror, Witness Interactions: DA ‘90 Day Fiance’ PA Barber Conviction Withdrawn Due Juror, Witness Interactions: DA
‘90 Day Fiance’ PA Barber Conviction Withdrawn Due Juror, Witness Interactions: DA A former Pennsylvania barber who appeared in "90 Day Fiance” and “90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?” who was extradited from Florida over six months after he was caught with fentanyl by US Marshals — has had one of his convictions dismissed due to contact between a juror and witness, the Cumberland County District Attorney Seán M. McCormack announced on Friday, March 23, 2024.  Michael Anthony Baltimore, 44 of Carlisle, PA, had been convicted on Feb. 1, 2024, in a domestic violence case from Jan. 7, 2021,  but the charges were dismissed and the case was vacate…
PA Doctor Accused Of Diverting 'Hundreds Of Doses' Of Fentanyl PA Doctor Accused Of Diverting 'Hundreds Of Doses' Of Fentanyl
PA Doctor Accused Of Diverting 'Hundreds Of Doses' Of Fentanyl A Luzerne County doctor is charged with 32 felony counts related to diverting narcotics, said the state Attorney General's Office Friday, March 22.  Richard Lemaster Hubbell was arraigned Thursday at a district court, prosecutors said.  Investigators believe Hubbell, while working as an anesthesiologist in Berks and Columbia counties, falsified records to show that patients were given fentanyl and Dilaudid, or hydromorphone.  Detectives said they found hundreds of vials and syringes containing the two opioids at his home in Butler Township, Luzerne County…
175K+ Fentanyl Doses Seized In Massive Reading Drug Bust: Berks DA 175K+ Fentanyl Doses Seized In Massive Reading Drug Bust: Berks DA
175K+ Fentanyl Doses Seized In Massive Reading Drug Bust: Berks DA Hundreds of thousands of doses of illegal drugs are off the street and four men are in custody following a massive police raid and drug bust on Monday, the District Attorney's Office announced on March 12. Detectives and Reading police launched an investigation into "street level" drug dealing on the 200 block of South 6th Street in September 2023, according to the DA's office.  With assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration, authorities executed search warrants at multiple properties — all in the same block  — on March 11, including:&…
Drug Trafficking Group With California Ties Operated In Southeast PA: Feds Drug Trafficking Group With California Ties Operated In Southeast PA: Feds
Drug Trafficking Group With California Ties Operated In Southeast PA: Feds Five members of an alleged trafficking group active in greater Philadelphia face federal charges, the US Attorney's Office announced this week.  Investigators say the group sent cocaine and methamphetamine to Pennsylvania through the mail for distribution in Reading, Quakertown, Bensalem, Plymouth Township, Coopersburg, and elsewhere. Authorities said they seized 40 firearms, over 100,000 rounds of ammunition, 60 pounds of meth, one kilogram of fentanyl, one kilogram of cocaine, 65 pounds of marijuana, 300 fentanyl pills, six pounds of psilocybin mushrooms, and $15,000 cash from the su…
Fentanyl Dealer Wanted For Selling Pills That Killed PA Teen: Police Fentanyl Dealer Wanted For Selling Pills That Killed PA Teen: Police
Fentanyl Dealer Wanted For Selling Pills That Killed PA Teen: Police Lower Allen police are looking for an accused fentanyl dealer in connection with a deadly overdose last year.  Major Mahari Winfield Defreitas, 20, is wanted for drug delivery resulting in death and possession with intent to deliver, authorities said.  Police were called about a suspected overdose on Rosemont Avenue in Camp Hill last Oct. 11, the department said. First responders rendered life-saving aid but the 16-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the release.  His cause of death was determined to be acute fentanyl toxicity, officials said. Invest…
Undercover Op. Seizes 400K Doses Of Fentanyl, Heroin, Xylazine Worth $3.6 Million In PA: DEA Undercover Op. Seizes 400K Doses Of Fentanyl, Heroin, Xylazine Worth $3.6 Million In PA: DEA
Undercover Op. Seizes 400K Doses Of Fentanyl, Heroin, Xylazine Worth $3.6 Million In PA: DEA Two Philadelphia men and approximately 400,000 doses of drugs were taken off the streets in an undercover operation by the Liberty Mid-Atlantic High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, Drug Enforcement Administration–Philadelphia Field Division, Pennsylvania State Police–Drug Law Team, Upper Merion Township Department of Public Safety, and the Montgomery County District Attorney's office according to a joint release on Friday, Jan. 25.  Richard Nunez, 45, and Javier Cornelio Fabian, 43, were arrested on Thursday on "multiple felony charges related to oper…
Feds: Leader Of Ring That Flooded South Jersey, Philly 'Burbs With Fentanyl, Meth Gets 18 Years Feds: Leader Of Ring That Flooded South Jersey, Philly 'Burbs With Fentanyl, Meth Gets 18 Years
Feds: Leader Of Ring That Flooded South Jersey, Philly 'Burbs With Fentanyl, Meth Gets 18 Years A drug kingpin who headed a network that slung fentanyl and meth in South Jersey and the suburbs of Philadelphia while he hid from his pursuers was sentenced Thursday to a plea-bargained 18 years in federal prison. Glenn Long, 29, of Philadelphia, must serve just about all of the time he received in U.S. District Court in Camden on Jan. 4 because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Long – known on the street as “Bless” and “Max” – ran the operation as a fugitive for three years while under a federal indictment for major drug trafficking out of Philadelphia. A second drug conspi…
Dealer Sentenced For Selling Pill That Killed Bucks Woman: Prosecutors Dealer Sentenced For Selling Pill That Killed Bucks Woman: Prosecutors
Dealer Sentenced For Selling Pill That Killed Bucks Woman: Prosecutors A Bensalem drug dealer will spend up to two decades in state prison for selling the pill that led to a Bristol woman's deadly overdose last year, according to the District Attorney's Office.  Shakur Ali Brisbon had previously pleaded guilty to drug delivery resulting in death, prosecutors said.  Brisbon was charged with the death of 23-year-old Olivia Seaberg after she was found unresponsive in a home on Bristol-Emelie Road last Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving. Her autopsy revealed the cause of death was acute fentanyl toxicity, and pills containing the drug we…
NJ Man Admits Selling Fentanyl That Killed Bucks County Man, Court Finds NJ Man Admits Selling Fentanyl That Killed Bucks County Man, Court Finds
NJ Man Admits Selling Fentanyl That Killed Bucks County Man, Court Finds A New Jersey man has admitted to selling the drugs that killed a Pennsylvania resident more than four years ago, authorities say.  Lamar Campbell of Trenton pleaded guilty to strict liability for drug-induced death and related counts in a Mercer County courtroom last Friday, Dec. 8, said the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.  The investigation began on June 29, 2019, after Morrisville police found 40-year-old Joseph Prieth dead in an apartment on Plaza Boulevard, prosecutors said.  Prieth was discovered in a bathroom surrounded by "used heroin bags…
Philly Man Sells 1K+ Fentanyl Pills In Bucks Co. Every Month Since 2021: DA Philly Man Sells 1K+ Fentanyl Pills In Bucks Co. Every Month Since 2021: DA
Philly Man Sells 1K+ Fentanyl Pills In Bucks Co. Every Month Since 2021: DA A Philadelphia man is accused of supplying Bucks County drug dealers with fentanyl pills, according to the District Attorney's Office.  Brian Franklin, 24, is being held on a $9 million bail bond on multiple charges related to drug trafficking, prosecutors said.  Investigators believe Franklin had been distributing fentanyl pills pressed to look like Percocets since May 2021. Authorities said he was moving more than 1,000 of the pills into Bucks County every month.  Prosecutors said Franklin took payment through a mobile app and claim that transcripts show he made almost&nbs…
Fentanyl Drug Bust: Pipeline From Philadelphia To Lancaster Closed, DA Says Fentanyl Drug Bust: Pipeline From Philadelphia To Lancaster Closed, DA Says
Fentanyl Drug Bust: Pipeline From Philadelphia To Lancaster Closed, DA Says Charges filed in a drug bust that has halted the "Philadelphia to Lancaster fentanyl pipeline," District Attorney Heather Adams announced on Wednesday, Nov. 8.  Louis Angel Cruz, 42 of the 600 block of S. Ann Street, Lancaster; Michael Beck, 41 of the first block of Crystal Drive, Manheim; and Heather Wagner, 30 of the first block of Crystal Drive, Manheim; were all charged on Oct. 31 in connection with an organized drug operation running from Philadelphia to Lancaster, the District Attorney's office detailed in a release. The Drug Task Force and Lancaster City Bureau of Police be…
600+ Bags of Fentanyl Found At Drug Counselor's PA Home: DA 600+ Bags of Fentanyl Found At Drug Counselor's PA Home: DA
600+ Bags of Fentanyl Found At Drug Counselor's PA Home: DA An Allentown drug counselor is accused of possessing hundreds of baggies of fentanyl at his Easton home.  Northampton County authorities raided the Steeplechase Drive residence of Jeffrey Cooper last Thursday, Oct. 26 as part of their investigation "related to Cooper's drug-dealing enterprise," said the District Attorney's Office.  While they were in Cooper's home "searching for documents," members of the county Drug Task Force said they found 600 bags of fentanyl, leading them to seek a second "drug-specific" search warrant.  A handgun and $2,000 cash were confiscated in th…
Couple Charged In 6-Year-Old Norristown Boy's Overdose Death: DA Couple Charged In 6-Year-Old Norristown Boy's Overdose Death: DA
Couple Charged In 6-Year-Old Norristown Boy's Overdose Death: DA A man and a woman are charged in connection with the overdose death of a 6-year-old Norristown boy over the summer, say Montgomery County prosecutors.  Kristen Sabatino, 31, and Matthew Santiago, 35, were the only adults in their Willow Street home when Dominic Lyons was found unresponsive on the morning of July 16, according to the District Attorney's Office.  The 6-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, and the Coroner's Office later determined he died from "drug intoxication from fentanyl and xylazine," authorities said.  Sabatino, the boy's mother, initially tol…
7 Suspected Drug Dealers With 'Links To Mexican Cartel' Sought By Berks DA 7 Suspected Drug Dealers With 'Links To Mexican Cartel' Sought By Berks DA
7 Suspected Drug Dealers With 'Links To Mexican Cartel' Sought By Berks DA A week after "Operation Knockout" saw 29 accused drug dealers charged in Berks County, prosecutors say seven of them are still on the run.  Roughly $1.5 million in cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other substances were seized by authorities in recent weeks as part of their effort targeting a "large-scale drug trafficking organization" based in and around Reading, officials have said.  The organization, according to the DA's Office, was being supplied by a source who had "direct links to a Mexican cartel." Only 18 of the suspects were in custody when authorities announced "Operation…
$1.6 Million Fentanyl Arrest Of NY Man In PA: AG $1.6 Million Fentanyl Arrest Of NY Man In PA: AG
$1.6 Million Fentanyl Arrest Of NY Man In PA: AG A New York man is accused of bringing almost half a million doses of fentanyl into Pennsylvania, authorities say.  Yan Carlos Pichardo Cepeda, 27, was arrested by state agents and Allegheny County authorities and arraigned on Friday, Sept. 1, Attorney General Michelle Henry's Office said.  Pichardo Cepeda was spotted avoiding police officers and canine units when he arrived in Pittsburgh from New York, prosecutors said. He consented to a search of his backpack, where police said they found a kilogram of fentanyl. Eight more kilograms of fentanyl — or 450,000 doses — wer…
Two 'Upper-Level' PA Drug Dealers Nabbed In $1.5M Fentanyl Bust: AG Henry Two 'Upper-Level' PA Drug Dealers Nabbed In $1.5M Fentanyl Bust: AG Henry
Two 'Upper-Level' PA Drug Dealers Nabbed In $1.5M Fentanyl Bust: AG Henry A pair of Allentown-based drug dealers are behind bars and more than $1.5 million worth of fentanyl was seized during a raid last weekend, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.  Wilson Jose Rosario, 33, and Luis Manuel Ventura, 21 — both alleged by prosecutors to be "upper-level" traffickers — were taken into custody by a team of city, county, and state authorities on Saturday, Aug. 26, officials said.  Officers, detectives, and agents with the AG's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation claimed to seize 11 pounds of fentanyl, or "nearly 165,000 doses of th…